Players enjoy playing lottery games in part because of the large prizes that can be won. In particular, players are attracted to the possibility of winning, and spending, such large prizes. This can be seen, for example, by the increased number of players who purchase lottery tickets as the size of a lottery prize increases. In some cases, a lottery prize reaches hundreds of millions of dollars and players spend a considerable amount of money and time purchasing lottery tickets. Moreover, even people who do not typically purchase lottery tickets are tempted to do so when a lottery prize grows large enough. This behavior is often reinforced by stories, such as news reports, about players who have won such large lottery prizes.
A problem with typical lottery games, however, is that if two or more players are both associated with a particular winning lottery number combination, the players are required to share the lottery prize. For example in a “6/49” lottery game, there are approximately fourteen million potential lottery number combinations. If twenty million people purchase lottery tickets for such a game, it is more likely than not that two people will be required to share the lottery prize.
This risk increases as the size of the lottery prize, and thus the number of lottery tickets that are purchased, increases. That is, as the number of lottery tickets that are purchased increases it becomes more likely that one or more other players will be associated with the same lottery number combination. Thus, the largest lottery prizes are often divided among two or more winning players, reducing the incentive people have to play the lottery game in the first place. Therefore, a lottery game provider may be able to increase lottery ticket sales, and profits, if players who win could reduce the risk of, or completely avoid, having to share a lottery prize.
Note that, with respect to the cost of a lottery prize, a lottery game provider may not be concerned with whether the prize is won by a single player or is shared by a number of players. That is, the amount of the lottery prize the lottery provider pays out is the same in both cases. In some cases, a lottery game provider may prefer that a single player win a lottery prize because of the amount and type of publicity generated by such a result.
Another way to view the above problem is to consider the expected value of a lottery ticket. A first lottery ticket associated with a lottery number combination that is not associated with any other lottery ticket has a higher expected value to a player than a second lottery ticket associated with a lottery number combination that is also associated with one or more other lottery tickets. As a result, players may be willing to pay a higher price for the first lottery ticket. Moreover, the cost of the first and second lottery tickets to the lottery game provider may be the same (e.g., the lottery game provider may payout the same top prize whether or not the two lottery tickets are associated with the same lottery number combination). Thus, a lottery game provider may be able to increase profits if it can receive a higher price for the first lottery ticket. In addition, awarding large prizes to a single player may result in increased interest in the lottery game, and thus more lottery tickets may be sold further increasing profits and prizes.
As can be seen, a need exists for improved systems and methods to facilitate lottery ticket transactions.